For NaPap, Goddess
by Akai Apple
Summary: Muraki and Tsuzuki have finally had their veeery lovely reuion, and now Tsuzuki has come back to visit Muraki for something else. Something much... much better. Later, Muraki and Oriya get into a fight, and a revelation is made... MurakiTsuzu OriTari
1. WY: Tsuzuki Has Problems

For NaPap

This is Watari/Oriya and Tatsumi/Tsuzuki fiction. It is shounen ai/yaoi. I warned you. This idea took me a million years, and isn't fully developed but I haven't submitted anything so I threw chapter one together hurriedly so NaPap and ya'll could read it while I work on chapter 2, which won't take near as long. I have _Wandering Aimlessly _to work on, too, so updates shall take a while. Oh, and this _Bleach _fiction I'm doing as well. Go ahead and check all that awesomeness out, you guys!!

I couldn't come up with a title, but I wrote this for NaPap, the insanely good author. Go read her Oriya/Watari and Muraki/Tsuzuki fiction! It's superb!

I do not own Yami no Matsuei.

.Watari Yutaka.

Tatsumi was glaring at the wall. I don't know _why _Tatsumi was glaring at the wall because the wall wasn't what was causing the bureau to lose money at an alarming rate. The thing that _was _causing the bureau to lose money at an alarming rate was missing.

Yeah. Tsuzuki.

Wall hadn't done anything to deserve Tatsumi's smoldering glare so I interrupted the secretary's boiling thoughts on Tsuzuki's second death, "Tatsumi! Where's Tsuzuki?"

Hisoka lowered his book briefly, "I think he overslept again. We haven't seen him."

Tsuzuki had been kinda fussy lately. We thought he wasn't getting enough sleep (or sweets), but he would show up late for work every day, claiming he'd slept in. Then, at breakfast, he wouldn't even eye the sweets laid out before him. That worried all of us.

Now, he was late again, but more late than usual and the idea of him skipping out altogether for the day was becoming quite appealing to me.

Hisoka jumped. He dropped his book to the floor and gasped loudly. I looked at Tatsumi to see if his rage had escalated, and Hisoka was picking it up, but when I saw him, he wasn't very angry at all. He looked shocked. He was standing, and before I could say anything, he was out the door and transporting away somewhere.

"Hisoka! Hey, kid! What's going on?" I hadn't felt anything. Apparently, Hisoka was sensing something and Tatsumi seemed to be able to feel it too. I almost felt left out. If Tatsumi could feel whatever it was Hisoka felt, then it must be… "Where's Tsuzuki?" I rephrased, careful not to touch the boy.

"Kyoto." He said, eyes shut. He breathed slowly so I knew he was recovering. I could leave him.

"I'm gonna go!" I transported and came to rest in a rainy street. People were too busy hurrying away for shelter to notice my conspicuous appearance in the middle of the road. Somehow, I had landed near enough to Tatsumi to feel his energy. I wasn't very good at sensing things. Better at Tsuzuki than Tatsumi, really. Tsuzuki had more power than he knew what to do with, though. Right now, he was too far away for me to feel so I just headed towards Tatsumi, who would ultimately take me there. I wonder how Tatsumi and Hisoka felt Tsuzuki even though he wasn't even in Meifu with us.

What in Kyoto was Tsuzuki still needing to see?

Muraki.

Why? What was then point of reinitiating a relationship with that freak? It was just cause him (and us) monumental amounts of difficulty. But he was the only thing in Kyoto that could still spark Tsuzuki's interest. The Kokakuro. It was the only place I could think of where Muraki might be. The ruins of the buildings Touda had burned down probably didn't hold his interest anymore. Maybe Tsuzuki's, but not his.

So I moved in the general direction of the building. It was nearby but I still wasn't 100 sure where it was exactly. All I knew was that by the time I reached the place I would be completely drenched. How irritating. I guess whatever fight I was about to have with Muraki couldn't be won with my devilish good looks.

I arrived at the brothel much faster than I'd thought I would, but I was still drenched. Whoever it was that worked here had better be hospitable. I jumped and gave out a sharp, girlish shriek as I heard a horrible crash inside the building. I could not feel Tsuzuki's energy, but I knew he was in there. I could feel _Muraki's _energy. It was seething and dismal, as usual. It always felt like a very hot, very heavy, black steam. Kinda made me tired, and relaxed. This didn't bother me as much as it probably should have.

"YOU _IDIOT_!" It would have been very interesting if Muraki had been the one yelling, but in this particular case it had been Tatsumi. Much more ordinary.

I strolled into the fine place to an interesting scene. Muraki, on the ground, wounded, bleeding. Tatsumi, holding Tsuzuki around the waist as he tried passionately to fling himself upon the injured Muraki, who was being helped by the brown-haired samurai (what was his name?) we'd met about a year ago. Blood oozed out of Muraki's strangely casual shirt, and he did not wear his custom, calm expression, he looked absolutely miserable. His face was wretched, contorted with emotional pain. Tears flooded over his lashes and streamed freely down his pale skin as he gasped and clutched his two wounds. Despite the pain he was in, never once did he move his gaze off of Tsuzuki. I swear, that man was utterly _insane_. He must have really been taken by surprise or something. What I wanted to know… how did Tsuzuki hurt Muraki? With what and why?

Tsuzuki did not speak, his teeth were bared and his fingers, instead of being balled into tight fists, were spread wide apart and hooked, as though they were vicious claws. A carnal snarl tore from Tsuzuki's throat and Tatsumi turned at the sound of the door closing, "Watari help me!" I wasn't really sure what I could do to stop the 12-shikigami-bearing-shinigami, but I hurried over anyway. "Hey, Tsuzuki! He's down, alright? Hey, shhh…" I could see he was crying. He probably hadn't even really wanted to hurt the bastard. Now Muraki was lying on the ground, possibly dying. Whatever was going through his mind was giving him problems and distracting him from them would calm him down.

"Watari!" he sobbed, turning to me, wearing just as wretched of an expression as Muraki, "I hate him! I HATE HIM!" My _Gods_ did these two tear each other apart. Muraki gasped out and made a strangled noise as the brown-haired (his name! his name!) man pressed his hand on Muraki's injured chest and stomach, "Kazutaka, _shush_! Try to calm down! You're only speeding up the blood flow!"

Muraki let out a sob as the brown-haired one daringly picked him up and hurried away. I was a doctor sorta kinda… I should go help. Agh, no. My place was here with Tatsumi and Tsuzuki. We should probably just leave.

And… Tsuzuki was on the ground. Sobbing, crying. I guess we had a few minutes yet… Tatsumi dropped to his knees and held the ailing Shinigami. I swear, he was just as insane as Muraki! Tsuzuki, I mean. I looked at them for a second then retreated, following the blood trail. Eventually it became a little hard to follow, so I just went after Muraki's cries and the brown one's grumpy, urgent, replies.

"God, Kazutaka! You're the doctor! What am I supposed to do?!" He was still friends with that sadistic rat, and it… was touching. How could he put up with Muraki? He could have easily ditched him! And now, when Muraki was hurting… you could tell he cared. He was completely stressed out. And I wanted to help him. He had seemed like a good man last time we'd met, and I could only judge him from that and his amazing loyalty. Having only this as evidence made him completely admirable. It was not a bad thing to help him. Maybe to help _Muraki_, but I wasn't helping _Muraki_, I was helping… brown.

"I can take a look." I said shyly. I was probably unwanted.

"TO HELL YOU WILL! YOU'LL JUST KILL HIM OFF!!" He turned to face me so quickly that his hair flew about him. It was… very nice. Ahem. I winced at his harsh tone and he sighed, "Mibu…" Muraki choked in an uncharacteristically pitiful, pained voice.

Mibu!! Mibu Oriya!

"Please let me take a look. I'm not going to hurt him." Oriya didn't say anything so I assumed it was alright. I moved towards Muraki, wounded and vulnerable, and knelt. "What caused the wounds?"

Oriya had a pipe when I looked at him next, "I don't know. Magic? I didn't see anything but that kid of yours said some fancy words."

Muraki shuddered. His brow was drenched in sweat and his hair, though considerably shorter than it used to be, clung limply to the sides of his face. He moaned, "F-Fuda!" I noted that he could still speak pretty well. Tsuzuki'd missed the vital organs.

I knew I could help. I was going to. I leaned over Muraki and forcefully removed his hands from the nasty, injured areas. Easy healing. Painful wound, but easy healing. So I got to work. Oriya watched like a hawk, smoking excessively and making sure I didn't try to kill his friend.

"Oh, he's going to be fine," I informed, right after causing Muraki to scream sharply at a considerable volume. It was really weird to see him like this. Like, _really weird_. It was so untypical of him. Maybe the sadistic monster had finally changed a bit. Probably not, but it was my best guess. He'd cried. His hair was just long enough to cover that unnatural eye of his, and he wasn't wearing a white suit. Plus, he hadn't said anything arrogant yet. Though I guessed it was only a matter of time.

Finally, I sat back and wiped my brow, "Okay, feed and water him and he'll survive. Change his bandages often or he'll get infected or something." I was so very professional, huh?

We both stood up and left the room together to leave the unconscious bastard to heal.

"Thanks." He said awkwardly.

"Yeah. No problem." I replied just as unsurely.

"They're a pain."

"We can never keep track of Tsuzuki."

"Same with that bitch."

I giggled, "I guess we have the same problem, then!"

He looked at me, I guess he seemed a little surprised, "Yeah…" He looked away again.

"How long have you guys-," he interrupted me, "Twenty-nine years." How old were they? "What about you and Tsuzuki?"

I blushed, "Ah… maybe sixty years?" How old was _I_?

He chuckled and I wasn't embarrassed anymore after that. He was not a hostile person. He was not going to be cold. We could be friends. "And you still haven't figured him out? Guess that means I'm never going to understand Kazutaka."

Good friends!

Wait, no, we couldn't. He was on Muraki's side. He was the enemy. "The one with glasses is going to be mad at you," Oriya noted bluntly.

I nodded and sighed, "Just think of how Tsuzuki's going to feel," I retorted in despair. He laughed again. "I'm sorry about this…" I did feel bad, but I was still curious, "How'd it happen?"

Oriya pulled his pipe out of his mouth and thought for a second, "Well, Kazutaka and I were eating breakfast- he's been living here sine Kyoto- and the girls were still sleeping since we don't open until late- I told them get back in their rooms when they heard purple-eyes come in here on his rampage- so he's screaming and he brings his hand down on air. Somehow this curs up Kazutaka and then glasses comes in here, yells at purple-eyes and hugs him. Then you got here. Honestly, you're a weird bunch. Where's the kid?"

I was surprised he remembered Hisoka, even though he was the only one he'd interacted with out of the all of us, "Hisoka? He may be on his way…" but probably not. Anyway, I very much wanted to continue this conversation alone, but we'd reached Tsuzuki and Tatsumi, who were still seated, but calm.

"What're you doing?" Tatsumi sounded tired and curious, not suspicious.

"Just trying to figure out what happened," I lied perkily.

Tsuzuki was seated on his knees next to Tatsumi, head bowed, "Is he going to be alright?"

I looked at him, surprised, "Um… I-I don't know."

Oriya twitched beside me.

"So long as his will to live stays strong," I reassured, "he should be perfectly fine and recovered in a month or so." A long recovery time, but this is what happened when you were viciously attacked by the 12-shikigami-wielding-shinigami who had also mastered Fuda.

Tsuzuki stood and Tatsumi followed, "But his will to live won't remain! Because I-"

Oh. He was going to feel guilty if Muraki died. I couldn't understand _why_, Muraki would never feel guilty if _he _killed _Tsuzuki_. But, whatever. Tsuzuki always felt guilty. You couldn't do anything about it.

"What makes you think he doesn't want to live anymore?" Really, I was confused. Muraki was not suicidal. He was much too pompous, too haughty and self assured to be suicidal.

Oriya stepped forward, "Because he can never be with Tsuzuki. He doesn't have a purpose anymore. No job, no girlfriend, no boyfriend, no family, no friends. He's got money… plenty of that… no revenge to seek out. Nothing. He could easily use this as an excuse to… go bye-bye." He trailed off and worriedly glanced in Muraki's direction, "Damn bastard. Better not…"

Well, who cared? No one was going to miss this guy. No girlfriend, no boyfriend, no family, no friends. Wait a second. Oriya was his friend. He'd miss him. Suddenly, Muraki's survival mattered. For some reason or other, I didn't want Oriya to have to feel the loss of a friend.

And suddenly I had a plan. I could visit this guy anytime I wanted, "I'll come back tomorrow to check on him," I insisted, "If he wakes up, feed him. But don't let him move around or anything. You're going to have to pamper him somewhat."

Oriya shrugged, "I could have one of the girls do… wait, no I can't. No. I'll do it…" he sounded utterly defeated, like taking care of Muraki was absolute torture. Maybe it was. I could definitely see that.

Oriya… was rather adorable. I rather wanted to hug him. But I'd rather _not _find out what would happen if I did. Though it might be worth the risk… no, no. Plenty of time for this later on my next visit…

END OF CHAPPIE ONE

I hate myself so much. This is so cheap. Whatevah, chappie two will be longer and better. It took me forever to come up with this idea, since I had another one at first, which ended up being completely stupid. Trust me, it was bad. The storyline will make sense later. As of now, it doesn't have one. But here, have this little chaplet for now. I promise something satiating next time!! I still don't know if it's Mur/Tsu or Tat/Tsu!!


	2. WY: Watari's New Objective

For NaPap

.two.

Okay! It's decided! Muraki/Tsuzuki. Poor Tatsumi! Left out of this fiction altogether. You know what, he's gonna get a few chapters, just because I love him so much! Okay… the last chapter was very displeasing to me. This _shall _be better! I hope…

Note: _Kagema_ mentioned in volume 8, I think, are young, male prostitutes that are not allowed at the Kokakuro.

I don't own Yami no Matsuei… I don't own anything. My mom told me so when I tried to claim the manga and video games I bought with my own money. She pointed out where I _got_ the money in the first place and I realized… okay, I really don't need to go in depth, here. Yami no Matsuei/Descendants of Darkness belongs to Matsushita Yoko. Not me. Done.

.Watari Yutaka.

_Okay, as soon as Tsuzuki gets out of my bed, I can call Oriya…_

Tsuzuki wouldn't get out of my bed. It was Wednesday morning. No work since the chief knew we were all not in the mood… Tsuzuki wouldn't be up anytime soon. He would sleep all day if I let him. So I sat up and went to the bathroom, trying to be as noisy and disruptive as I could. Shocking. He didn't wake up. I sat on the edge of the bed and stretched vigorously, yawning loudly and fake sneezing a few times. Finally, I stood up and pretended to trip on my perfectly flat, hardwood floor. I let out a piercing shriek.

"_Watari_!" Tsuzuki whined obnoxiously, pulling a pillow over his head, "Try to be quieter!"

I guess maybe I should explain why Tsuzuki was in my bed…

After we'd left Oriya's last night, Tsuzuki was kind of… well, freaking out. He didn't want to be home alone, and Hisoka, he would normally hang with at such a time, wasn't really involved, and Tatsumi was put under torture seeing Tsuzuki in this state. So I took him in for the night.

Now, when I say he didn't want to be alone, I mean he _didn't want to be alone_. Not when I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, made us food… slept. Anything. He would linger behind me, sometimes talking or making unnecessary comments, sometimes staying silent and observing me as if I were actually interesting. I talked a lot, it seemed to help him heal from whatever it was inside him that was wounded, and he would forget about his issues with Muraki for the time being. This really wasn't the best way to console someone, especially Tsuzuki, since he'd feel guilty for having fun, but it was really all I could do. I had a feeling, though, that Tsuzuki was wanting to hang out here all day. This, to my utter disdain, would hold me back from contacting Oriya and getting my ass over to the Kokakuro.

"Are you going to make breakfast?" He inquired blearily from somewhere within my bedclothes.

And there it was. My excuse to leave, "Actually, my apartment is kinda… devoid of food. I usually sleep at the office, but I'll go pick something up if you'd like?" Kinda. Actually, I was going to head to Cinnapon and get interrupted by a horrific car wreck that I _must _heroically help out with. In other words: _To the Kokakuro_!

"Cinnapon!" he trilled excitedly, popping his head out from my comforter momentarily.

"Right!" Two seconds later, I stood at the entrance of the Kokakuro. It was kind of early, but I didn't have to worry about waking anyone up because of what I could distantly here going on inside.

"Muraki Kazutaka! Lay down!" Oriya's voice was very welcoming. Albeit the screeching he was emitting right now… I threw the doors open to see Muraki tearing across the room in my direction. At first I thought I was in danger of attack, but I realized the wounded man was trying to escape. No wonder Oriya had sounded off so loudly.

"Move!" Muraki barked, flinging his arms out in front of himself so he could shove me away, "Move, Watari!" Blood soaked his plain, white, two piece yukata as he reopened his wounds. I ducked under his outstretched arms and threw my arms around his midsection, "What're you doing, Muraki? You're going to kill yourself!"

Oriya appeared in the doorway, "Oh, good…" He stomped over, clearly pissed, and awkwardly wrapped himself around the taller, pale man, and clutched him tightly to his chest to restrict movement, "Kazutaka-!" Muraki struggled vainly before finally hanging limp and glaring at the ceiling. I would easily accept it if these past two days were just a dream. The behavior Muraki had been showing was so uncharacteristic… he was not himself at all. He wasn't strong, composed, or quiet. He was no longer in control and confident. It was absolutely bizarre.

"Behave yourself!" Oriya warned. He sounded like a frustrated mother. In response to this, Muraki turned his head and coughed. A crimson spurt of blood shot onto the floor and Oriya groaned, "You stop acting like a stupid brat or we're going to put you on sedatives!" he hissed around his pipe. Muraki _was_ acting very childish. I wonder what he was wanting to do. The Kokakuro was the best place for him right now. Oriya forced Muraki to stand on his feet and supported him as they slowly made their way out.

I followed Oriya into the same room from last night and watched as he took it upon himself to clean and dress Muraki's wounds. Muraki stayed silent, eyes glistening angrily throughout the entire process, "Thank you," he muttered when the job was done.

Oriya stood up and looked down at him, "Whatever. Just stop being such a fool, would you?"

I smiled a little and Muraki snorted indignantly before I followed Oriya out of the room, "Thanks." He said, exasperated, "He's embarrassed, I think. I haven't even seen him so weak before."

I smiled a little, giving him a quizzical look, "He seemed fine to me! He was really moving!" It'd probably _really _hurt when I'd slammed myself into him back there. There was some of the Muraki I knew and hated. He hadn't made a single sound during impact.

"He's… I don't know. He'd probably have collapsed once he'd gotten out," Oriya said, shrugging lackadaisically. He wasn't panicked anymore, like he was yesterday. That was good, now I wouldn't feel so guilty trying to seduce him.

Wow, lots of bold ideas that I wasn't going to do a single thing with... Well, probably…

"Master Oriya?" I must admit, I started quite violently. Oriya turned around calmly, not surprised in the least.

"Oh, good morning, Nemu. Is everything all right?" Oriya pulled out his pipe and took on a more serious air, and although he used formal words, he was completely relaxed around her. He'd known her for some time, apparently. Or maybe…

"We were worried about Mr. Muraki. Is he all right?" She sincerely looked worried. Her sandy-colored, barely visible eyebrows tipped up and her green eyes were wide. Her pale, smooth skin wrinkled with the expression.

"He's fine…" Oriya said, glancing back into the room, "He's just unhappy with being forced to stay still."

She smiled, "Oh, that's good! Is there anything we can get him? Do _you _need anything?"

Oriya smiled and placed his pipe back in his mouth, "Oh, no. Please go back to your room and rest. Breakfast shouldn't be ready for an hour or two. I'm sorry if he woke you," He meant Muraki. The sour, annoyed expression he wore on that last part was very amusing.

She glanced at me once, smiling sweetly, and, quickly before she turned away, I swore I saw the shadow of a wink.

As Nemu walked away, I found my excuse to question Oriya's personal life, "So, is she the one?"

We pause momentarily and Oriya, exasperated, swept a hand over his face quickly as my earlier suspicions were confirmed a few shrill giggles erupted from the direction of the rooms. I might have blushed.

Oriya had walked ahead of me a little, "Hm?" He exhaled pale gray smoke and turned his head to glance at me, "The one what?"

I smiled and sped up a little, so I could get in his face for a moment, "You know! _Your _girl." I poked him sharply, daringly, _flirtatiously_, in the chest. I hoped he understood what I meant. I didn't really want to go into any further detail, "Not _anyone_ else's."

He looked at me for a moment and I watched as his eyebrows rose briefly in realization, "Oh! No… no… I'm not into anything with any of my girls. That would be… unprofessional." He cleared his throat, "Well! I need to go see if Mizuiro is awake and ready to start breakfast…" His pace increased for a second time before he stopped completely and turned to me, "Ah… would you like to stay for breakfast?"

_Tsuzuki, it was a _very_ serious accident. It took a long time for us volunteers to get everyone safe and where they needed to be!_

I smiled brightly, "Of course! Thank you very much, Mr. Oriya. There's really no food left in my apartment at all!"

He gave a me a look that hinted that I had piqued his interest in some manner or other. Was he going to question the impecunious way that we shinigami really lived? Or maybe he thought I was just a deprived shinigami compared to most.

"Shinigami like yourself live in apartments? Not big…" he trailed off and watched the smoke he had produced for a moment before turning to me again and leading us off to the kitchen, "I guess I never really had any idea where the shinigami lived. You need sleep? And food? You're not always on the job?"

I laughed, perhaps obnoxiously loud, but Oriya's company was giving me the most blithesome time I'd had in years! He might've managed supplying me with a better time than the office had for my 85th birthday! Which is strange, because he'd made absolutely no effort to do so, and he wasn't even aware of the freakish mirth I was indulging in at the moment. I must have a stinkin' crush on him or something. I wonder if this is why I was never sent off on field missions anymore; I always started crushing on mortals!

Well! This was hardly a mission, and no one was getting hurt by my… _sumptuous _fantasies and dreams, so I could hardly care less about the rules right now. I mean, I'd just got invited to breakfast by an absolute _hunk_! You didn't get this stuff often when you were _dead_! "We are, well, technically, _human_, Mr. Oriya!"

He was embarrassed, and he nodded, "Well… yeah… ah… Mizuiro?" He knocked once, gently with the back of his hand, careful not to wake the cook if he wasn't already up and running, "Breakfast?"

"So… there's no set time for breakfast?" I said quietly, finding this exceptionally, charmingly thoughtful.

"Oh, no. But I do prefer if everyone eats something. That's pretty much the only rule for breakfast. The girls tend to stay up really late, so I make sure they don't have to get up earlier than they feel if they want to eat breakfast. We don't usually do lunch; clashes with opening time." He knocked one more time, waiting hopefully, and he sighed and turned to go find somewhere to tarry about and wait for the cook to come around.

"Aw! That's so sweet!" I squealed, "Was that your idea?" I mean, I assumed it was, since he was the boss and everything… I hope I didn't wake the cook with my shrill excitement.

"Ah… well, it's always been like that. Not really a _rule_," he gave me a curious, sidelong look that spoke volumes of how peculiar I was acting. He lived in a house full of young women and he didn't get a lot of squeals and excitement? What about the high-pitched giggles we'd heard earlier?

"I hope you don't mind waiting for a while. It shouldn't be another hour or so," he said, seating himself on the tatami and gesturing that I could do the same. I did. For some reason or other, he didn't seem worried about awkward silences and whatnot… I wondered what he planned to do for entertainment. Smoke?

After a while of sitting, I realized that _was _his plan. We were to sit and smoke… or watch him while he smoked. I could definitely do that for any length of time, but I was feeling ill at ease and this was a most apt moment to get some information on him, should I want to woo him and take him for myself. Okay, rephrase: _since I wanted to woo him and take him for myself_. Not yet had I witnessed a single negative quality to this chocolate-haired man. He was completely striking in all aspects, and the idea of being with him was so appealing to me… He seemed out of my league, however. He lived in a house full of women who were _professionally_ attractive. How was I supposed to contend with that? God, I sound like a woman. Well! It appeared to be that they were my only competition! And then, I wondered aloud, "There aren't any _kagema_ here, are there?"

I had probably shocked myself more than I had shocked him. He slowly pulled his pipe out of his mouth, and then took a hasty, deep drag on it so he could stall for more time. He exhaled, and before he had even expelled all of the smoke from his lungs, tried to speak. He coughed violently, holding up a hand to keep me seated where I was. He probably didn't want the gay blonde hopping on top of him, and readily performing mouth-to-mouth.

I do abhor myself sometimes.

"Kagema?" He stared at me incredulously, "Ah, no, Mr. Watari. _Kagema _aren't permitted in the Kokakuro." He gave me an apprehensive look before returning to his pipe. He seemed a little more attached to it now than he had before. Compulsively sucking the poisonous smoke into his lungs and tasting it for a while before releasing it again.

I had made it awkward. The silence that had been before good and acceptable had become tense and intolerable. Eager to end the insufferable length of time that was the wait for Mizuiro, I stood up. He made to get up after me, "I just remembered…" I said, stopping him, "I forgot that Tsuzuki wanted me to get him some breakfast. I really should go. I… sorry, sorry," I fumbled with my words until I had gotten out the door and instantly realized that leaving was the wrong choice. He'd be in there, bearing in mind all of the things I could've meant by asking about _kagema_. Bearing in mind all of the _wrong _things!

Of course, I had the urge to spin around and march right back in there, but I really was beginning to feel the guilt for ditching Tsuzuki at a time where he was probably kinda hurting and probably kinda wanting his Cinnapon. So I'd stop at Cinnapon before arriving home, after, of course, having _not _gone to the Kokakuro and saved a small girl and her smaller brother from their horrible car-wreck-induced injuries. Ahem. _Having not gone to the Kokakuro_. Having not embarrassingly asked about kagema to a hot- most certainly straight- hunk of swordsmen.

Man, I wasn't feeling quite as spectacular as I thought I would today…

- END OF CHAPPIE TWO -

Well, that was still a little cheap, but it set Oriya up for some actual thoughts in the next chapter. And, YES! OMG, did you see that!? Next chappie: Oriya Mibu! Yay!! Whatever. Okay, I hope this was somewhat better quality. Those of you who are waiting for Chapter 8 of WA, just wait a tad longer, please! Sankyuu!


	3. MO: Interesting

For NaPap

.three.

Okay, it seems a few of you are totally despairing because I scratched Tatsumi out of my plans. No need to worry, he shall exist in this fiction! I love Tatsumi, and although I'm not even sure if he's my favorite character or not (I do believe it's a war between all four of our bishounen men. Muraki probably… isn't… but I like him), I love him _good_ and he shall exist a lot in this fiction! He should exist a lot in all Muraki/Tsuzuki fictions, considering how much he opposes such an idea as those two being together! Anyway, no worries 'Tsumi fans, he shall have his fair share of moments!

Turns out, I enjoy writing this fiction, like, 95 percent more than I enjoy writing Wandering Aimlessly. –shrug- I dunno, maybe because Ori/Tari is really fun. And wonderful. They're fun characters to write, albeit hard. Anyway, I digress. Here's your fiction. Next chapter POV: Kazutaka Muraki! (I think!)

I don't own Yami no Matsuei… I don't own anything. Except this fic, maybe. I suppose it's partially mine…

.Oriya Mibu.

As I watched Watari wobble desperately out of the room, I tried very hard to convince myself that he was actually going to go get Tsuzuki breakfast. I couldn't help but think that the blonde was truly _that embarrassed _that he'd have to _leave_. I didn't want to give him such an unpleasant moment. I kinda liked the guy, really. I mean, he was nice, and I thought it was a pleasant idea to have more than one friend. Or maybe I just thought it was a pleasant idea to have a friend that wasn't… um… _Muraki_? Can I say that and assume you know what I mean by it?

Alright, I'd get that blonde's butt back here later. Ahem, along with the rest of him, of course. Somehow. Maybe I could go in and worsen Kazutaka's condition so he'd have to… no, no, Mibu, don't be harsh. I'm sure Mr. Watari will come back on his own.

Now, to the matter of _kagema_… Oh, man. Let's see, there wasn't exactly a plethora of reasons for him to ask about _them_, were there? No indeed, there was not. Let's consider them all.

First and foremost: Mr. Watari wanted to rent a kagema.

No, no that couldn't be it. Oh, shit, I hope not. I may run a brothel, but that does not mean the _whole_ idea appeals to me. I inherited this place as the oldest in our family, my only brother being at the young age of nineteen when I started to manage (I was twenty-seven). My sister was older than me but- well, my parents didn't want her to have to run a brothel. For some reason, they found this to be men's work.

Anyway, I worked very hard to make my brothel a nice one. A prestigious, well-kept, mannerly brothel. Everything was clean, and everyone was nice and polite. Not just anyone could be a customer, either. So as long as things went in such a way as that, I had no problem with the whole thing.

And I didn't wince at the general idea of kagema, either. I _almost_ did.

Alright, this is hypocritical and homophobic. I am neither of those. I had slept with a man before and here I was judging Watari for having… how do I put it? Having similar 'feelings'. Maybe he wasn't allowed to have a boyfriend, so he had to get his sex through other means? And if he preferred guys, then kagema were the answer to that, ne?

I just didn't normally approve of people who had to come out to a brothel to get some. I think sex was something special that you share with someone special. Right?

Okay, no. I'm moving on to reason number two now.

Um… was there a reason number two? There had to be…

Aha! Maybe he was looking for Tsuzuki! I knew for a fact that Tsuzuki was gay. It was the magical work of my gay radar (although nobody needed one of those to see that in Tsuzuki. Poor boy was gayer than Christmas). Yeah, maybe Watari was just being a good friend to Tsuzuki!

Okay, now I wanted to try and link this bizarre turn of events to myself because I am very important to me. Of course. Earlier, in a pure, yet subtle way of asking about my personal relationship status, he asked if Nemu was mine. Which could've been a cute thing to ask if he'd blushed and become shy, but he'd let it slip out so casually that I hadn't even registered what he'd meant at the time. So, if he was trying to find the girl I was for, that meant he was interested in me. Maybe. Don't flatter yourself, Mibu. He might just be trying to make conversation. Or maybe he was interested in Nemu himself.

But if he had asked about Nemu for the reason that I most liked, he was probably thinking, '_oh, right. I can't be his girl… I'm not a girl_' so he'd been confronted with the need to try and make out… _figure_ out my orientation. How might he do that? Well, that must be where he was in his thoughts, and having it thought through that way, it seemed perfectly normal to ask...

Ah, see, that was the best explanation! 

No, it wasn't, Mibu. Stop being a fool. Maybe Watari really was kind of… _no good_. No, no, just because you want to hire a- Okay, I'm stopping now. I would have no problem simply _asking _the man what he meant next time I saw him. No reason he told me could be embarrassing. Except maybe that last one… my favorite one… the one he would avoid and lie about. Darn, no win situation again. Those other reasons… I could see him blushing, chuckling, reaching his arm behind his head to scratch it awkwardly, then shrug and relax again. He was a nice, laid-back kinda guy, I think. Besides, for some reason or other, I never seemed to get embarrassed. I'd been embarrassed for _other people _before, but I'd never really tried to deny who I was, or the meaning behind what I might've said or done. People's opinions on me could not matter less.

There were plenty of fish in the sea for me. I barely knew this guy, anyway.

I really needed to go out soon.

Oh, I really didn't want to do that and I knew it. I hated going out. Everyone in the district- no, the _city _knew who I was. I don't know why. It was mildly frustrating. Men liked me for some reason or other, and women flocked to me like moths to a light. And they _were_ moths. Not butterflies. Not once, regardless of the tons of people I'd had available to me, had I found a single butterfly amidst the moths. Never. And if Watari wasn't a butterfly he was definitely some sort of pretty moth, because he, regardless of my relations with Kazutaka, tried to be a friend to me. I do think if that last question he'd asked had never occurred, we would be completely content, maybe having a good-spirited conversation, too.

Most of the people I met expected me to extend the hand and introduce myself sweetly, smiling and being sickeningly polite all the while. They knew my name, and had a picture of me in their mind. To them, I was _supposed _to be all that and _better_. Watari didn't do that. And he even knew about my relations with Kazutaka. _That's acceptance._

"Master-"

I think Mizuiro was more frightened then I was, for I was standing, on my feet, sword drawn and pressed to his throat before he could even address me fully. I sighed when I saw him and stooped down to retrieve my pipe, which I had dropped in my promptness to eliminate the newcomer.

A tiny trail of blood ran down his neck and he was breathing so hard I wasn't sure whether or not I had accidentally nicked his jugular. No, that was impossible. I'd never made such a mistake before. Sure enough, the chef was fine, just frightened.

Mizuiro said, "Are you alright?"

I quirked an eyebrow, sheathing my katana and clutching my pipe firmly between my two rows of white teeth, "Ah? I think that's what I need to be asking you." I replied, brushing off the floor where I'd been sitting and turning to him.

"It's jest that… you looked so… _untense_."

I looked untense?

"You mean I looked 'intense'." I stated simply. He nodded dumbly. Mizuiro wasn't the most educated fellow around. He wasn't so bad, but I worried sometimes. Even doubted he could read at one point. "Well, I'm fine. Just trying to figure something out…" this, of course, pitched me back into the very real dilemma I was facing. I felt my brow furrow, and I shook it away quickly, not wanting to appear too startlingly '_untense'_.

"Ah, well, Master Oriya, I wasn't coming to tell ya I was up. We've got a guest."

I turned to face Mizuiro, and my new energy startled him, "Ah? Do you know who it is?"

Mizuiro smiled a little, "Heh, no. He says that he was here yesterday…"

Hm. It probably wasn't Watari. Ahem. Not that it mattered. Really, what was I so hung up about? That man was _fine_- I mean _okay_, and he was going to be back sometime later. If not today, tomorrow. I had no reason to think on him any longer.

Anyway, if it wasn't Mr. Watari… then who?

"A'right. He's this way," Mizuiro said, gesturing with a heavy, tired arm towards the front room.

I followed, walking with long, slow steps, since I was certainly in no hurry to see our guest. I had the sickening feeling that it was going to be Glasses, and Glasses could get kind of annoying… and I mean that in the nicest, most sincere way possible. I mean, he was only worried about their _precious_ Purple-Eyes. Why did everyone love that kid, anyway? I'd have to delve into him… talk to Kazutaka about him or something.

"Mr. Oriya!" The guy _called _to me as Mizuiro led me into the room. He held his hand above his head, and he _waved_. I quirked an eyebrow. We were about three yards apart… Not Glasses. It was Purple-Eyes.

"Good morning." I stated in reply, "How can I help you, Purp-" I needed to figure out their _names_. It could not be Watari Yutaka, Purple-Eyes, Kid, and Glasses. It didn't work that way and it was rude not to bother learning their names. Even if against my will, I was involved with these shinigami.

"Did I kill Muraki?"He asked instantly, searching behind me for the aforementioned doctor.

"No, he's fine," I sighed. "He's in the back if you want to see him…" I realized it was probably best to go with the kid, so I made my way to Kazutaka's room. Damn bastard better be in there…

Purple-Eyes walked, seemingly hyper, behind me, hands clasped behind his back, strides slow and considerate, eyes looking around and observing the surroundings, as they probably hadn't seen much yesterday. I would've been distracted, too.

"Care to explain why you attacked him?" And why straight afterwards you were in regret, and begging the gods for the sadist to live?

Purple-Eyes slowed down and brought his hands to his sides again. He stared at me. "Um…" Well, I'd just stomped on his good mood.

But he'd stomped on mine, too.

Him being here meant that Watari had _lied _to escape my company. Right? I think if Watari really was embarrassed, then things would be awkward between us on every one of the rare occasions that we met. Awkward for him, I mean. I didn't really care if he wanted a kagema, just disappointed if that did happen to be the case.

Again, Mibu, you were to be done thinking about that. Focus on now.

"I was having a bad day…" he said lamely. I restrained myself from smirking around my pipe.

I knocked once on the before roughly shoving the sliding door into the wall, "Kazutaka! You have a visitor!" I proclaimed.

The stupid silver-haired man was there to his great fortune (he would've died by my sword otherwise), and he turned his head indolently to look at me. He saw me, sneered, registered my words, and glanced behind me in search of his aforesaid visitor. This is when he sat up, the tiniest trace of a wince on his agreeably handsome features, "Mr. Tsuzuki!?"

Tsuzuki. That was his name. So now it was Tsuzuki, Watari, Glasses, and Kid. Getting there…

I glanced back at Tsuzuki to make sure he wasn't pulling out some tricked out slip of paper and getting ready to kill us. He just stood there dumbly, frowning. "How did you heal Fuda wounds, Mr. Oriya?"

Kazutaka struggled to stand as we conversed. I couldn't tell Tsuzuki that Watari helped us if he didn't want the purple-eyed shinigami to know… I had to come up with something. "Well," I sighed, "Kazutaka talked me through it." I hoped that the stupid silver-haired bastard knew about Fuda and it's effects.

"Oh." Tsuzuki said simply, still staring at the doctor as he struggled to hoist his tired self from the ground. "Um…" Tsuzuki was blushing, "You don't have to get up…"

I watched as Kazutaka stopped his struggling, sniffed, and collapsed down again roughly, "Care to sit down yourself, Mr. Tsuzuki?" he said conversationally, pushing up his glasses and patting the tatami next to him.

Tsuzuki blushed more and stepped forward once, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry… Muraki."

I sensed Kazutaka hold back a smile. This was good. Maybe now the stupid lecherous, freeloading child wouldn't act so inanely for a while. Ah, doubt it.

"An apology?" Kazutaka quirked an eyebrow, "Was I not deserving of what you did?"

Tsuzuki was confused for a moment as he tried to fathom Kazutaka's logic, "It… wasn't right for me to come at you out of nowhere. You haven't done anything for an entire year…"

The silver-haired one shrugged, "And of the past? I did do some things back then that I never seemed to have been judged for. I gather that, by now, I should be deep in Hell." 

I winced. Why couldn't he try and repent his sins like a normal person instead of wait for some sort of divine judgment and his relocation to _Hell_?! Why couldn't he attempt to reimburse and make up for what he did? He wasn't going to get anywhere with the rest of his life if he continued to sit around at a brothel all day and literally do _nothing_. I told him to go home a long time ago.

Tsuzuki sat down, far away from Muraki, "Sure, but… it would've been better if I'd just left you alone and never ever gotten involved with you again." Muraki reached out and gently rubbed Tsuzuki's thigh.

"I don't agree to that…" he said sensitively.

Tsuzuki swallowed and inched away, "Whatever you've been doing the last year… I want you to continue it because-"

I stepped forward, "I _don't _want him to continue it. He needs to go home already and get back to _work_! That idiot has been sitting around like a bump on my floors for the past year, and he does nothing but eat, sleep, and annoy the shit out of me!" I do think Kazutaka was surprised to be hearing this. Also very bothered, "You two need to settle whatever it is between you so he can stop being outright _worthless! _I am going to leave you two to speak of your rapport, whatever it may be. Good or bad. Straighten it out, already! What are you to each other?!"

I stepped back, sniffed, and slammed the screen door shut. Then I flung it open again "You have until breakfast, Muraki Kazutaka!! I am officially kicking you out!" It was time for him to get a life, okay!? "Oh, and Mr. Tsuzuki, do you have Mr. Watari's cell phone number?!" I was still yelling…

"Y-yes," he said, shaken. He wrote it up quickly on a magically appearing piece of paper (no joke…) and held it out to me. I think I actually saw him grimace when I snatched it away. Kazutaka made some small of noise in disapproval, and I nearly spun around and stuck my tongue out at him. No, I was the mature one in this situation. I was going to walk away calmly.

I slammed the door like a thwarted teenager.

The next urge I had was to sit outside the door and eavesdrop, but it really didn't matter whether or not they fell in love in that room, Kazutaka would not be sleeping here one more night.

See, I figured if Mr. Tsuzuki became partial to the bastard, then he would stop being inanimate and start doing things again. I don't know what, though. He had no reason to go to work, and he had no disembodied heads to revive… _It didn't matter_. I did not care where he ended up, as long as he was alive and not _here_.

Mizuiro was there waiting for me and I asked him to please start breakfast within the next ten minutes. He nodded tiredly and traipsed out towards the kitchen.

Okay, now I was going to call Watari and require him to come back here. I could say that he needed to come wait for Tsuzuki, lest something outrageous were to transpire between those two complete idiots. He would come, I knew, but avoid me. Hah, well I wasn't going to let him! For some reason, I wasn't feeling like letting him have a merry rest of the day. He needed to scoot back on over here and have a lovely conversation with me about our troubles and…

Shit, did I like him or something? Normally I wouldn't have even thought about it. Hell, _normally_ I wouldn't have even invited the guy to stay for breakfast. When was the last time I'd even done something like that?

Oh, well actually it was last week when I invited one of my girls' family to stay all morning when we found out that she had a rare, fatal disease. I was just lucky that I didn't have too long to become attached to her… I would've been as emotionless as the current Muraki… Ooh, I digress. Now was the time for me to figure out why I needed Watari back here so badly.

Oh, I didn't _need _him back here, did I?

Well, probably. If I didn't have him back here I'd just think about it all day. I had nothing else to do but torment Kazutaka and that was beginning to get old. I'm making myself sound evil. I was actually very upset that Kazutaka had become vulnerable and pathetic. He didn't care about _anything_ anymore. Except what kind of soup we served him.

Before I could allow myself to think on it any further, I had dialed the poor boy's number and I had the phone to my ear. I knew I could hang up, but I decided to follow through with the call.

"Tsuzuki? Is this you? Honestly, I go and get your breakfast and come home to find you _gone_! It didn't take me _that_ long to get your stupid-" he certainly sounded angry. Anyway, it seemed like he was telling the truth about getting his friend's breakfast…

"Mr. Watari, I was wondering if you would return to the Kokakuro to have breakfast with us. I must insist." I don't know why, but I _must _insist.

"Oh… Mr. Oriya. Um… I'm kind of busy today…" I could hear the embarrassment plain in his voice.

"_I must insist_. Besides, I would appreciate it if you would come to support Tsuzuki," This was true enough, I suppose, but I couldn't help but feel that the purple-eyed one wasn't the true reason for my desire to have Watari return here.

"What do you mean? Is Tsuzuki at the Kokakuro?"

"He is. And he will be having breakfast with us."

"Why-?"

"He wanted to see Muraki," I shrugged, "I don't know why. Why don't you come over here and ask him yourself."

Watari hesitated, no longer seeing any reason not to come. He knew if Tsuzuki was here we wouldn't have any awkward silences between just the two of us. "Fine. I'll be there in a second."

He wasn't kidding. The magical man appeared in the room, not too far from me, _less _that a second later. He snapped his phone shut, looked up at me briefly, then pocketed it, "Eh. Hello, again…" ha, he didn't know what to say. At least he wasn't blushing or anything.

"Please, have a seat," I indicated the same spot he had been not too long before, and he eyed it warily before traipsing over and placing himself down tentatively.

"Where's Tsuzuki?"

I sucked on my pipe contentedly, ignoring his embarrassment. I was determined to keep this somewhat controlled and comfortable. He was determined to crush my ambitions.

"He's with Muraki. Don't worry about that now, I have a question for you."

I saw him wince noticeably, "Alright."

"Do you like chocolate chips or blueberries in your pancakes?" I had to get him relaxed again, you see. My objective would not be unsuccessful. Anyway, the lightening of his tense expression was a good sign. I continued, "Because we can have Mizu do it either way. Your choice."

He smiled at me, "I like blueberries!" This was easy. All I had to do was let him know that his question earlier hadn't bothered me as much as he'd estimated, then he'd chatter unreservedly. No problem.

"Alright, I'll let Mizuiro know when he's ready. Now… to matter number two."

His face darkened again, and I smiled, feeling contrastingly wicked, "What do you think is going to happen between those two?"

He, again, calmed down considerably when he heard this, "Between Muraki and Tsuzuki? I try not to think about that too much. Why? What're they doing?"

My smile widened. I was being such a schemer today. Or maybe I was just that bored with the normal routine… "Well, I have them stuck in a room together, having a little heart-to-heart about whether or not they need see each other and get along, or what. I mean, Kazutaka loves that purple-eyed guy of yours, but I don't have a clue what Mr. Tsuzuki thinks."

Watari shrugged, "I don't either. I mean, I think he hates him, but he always gets _so guilty_ when he so much as steps on someone's foot. It's ridiculous." I nodded sagely in my agreement.

"So, then, what do you _want _to happen between them? I know what I want, but how about you?"

He paused, "Well, what do you want?"

I pulled my pipe out and looked him in the eyes, "I wish for them to become sincerely, ardently, passionately besotted for each other and be together _forever_."

His jaw hung open and he stared before collecting himself, "_What_?! Why!?"

I felt a smarmy smirk tug at my lips, but I forced it away, "So Muraki will get the Hell out of my house."

Watari seemed angry now, "Isn't there another way to achieve _that_? Can't you just kick him out!?"

Yes, I could. I already did. "I assume that we do not share the same idea, then? You don't want Tsuzuki to have any sort of friendship with him?"

Watari ran a hand through his hair, "It's not so much that more than I don't think Tsuzuki _could _form a friendship with him."

"And why not?"

"The stupid _guilt_."

I nodded, "Sounds about right. That's what Kazutaka had told me before. Tsuzuki lusts for Muraki, but can't get past his murdering and raping and blah, blah, blah. Am I the only person who sees the Kazutaka behind all of that?"

Again, Watari was thoroughly shocked, "_Yes. _You and anyone else who might've been friends with him as a kid. I only know him for the torture he put on Tsuzuki and the kid. He wasn't very nice to me or Tatsumi either."

Mizuiro walked in, "So, what shall it be, Master Oriya? The kitchen's ready for your command!"

I twisted around so I could see him, "It's simple today, but you've got to make a lot. We've got two guests."

Mizuiro nodded, "Pancakes?"

I nodded.

Watari said, "With blueberries."

He gave me a strange look, "But doesn't Mr. Muraki like-"

"Che. Kazutaka's preference does not matter today, Mizuiro. Please, blueberries." I could see it in his eyes as he nodded. He was going to make Muraki his pancakes special. For some reason or other, Mizuiro liked to work as a slave for that sadistic man. I used to think that Muraki had threatened him or something, but after time, I found that wasn't the case. I was still investigating the whole thing.

"Anyway, how long do you suppose you'll take? I'd like to have Kazutaka and our guests eat before the girls get up."

Mizuiro nodded, "About twenty hours!" I gave him a condescending look and he stopped to think about what he just said, "I mean… twenty _minutes_?" I nodded, smiling a little and he left with that as his dismissal. I sighed when he was gone, _hours_.

"Thank you!" Watari called after him blithely.

"So, why'd you ask about _kagema_?" I don't know if I was pushing it or not by asking so early.

Watari did not blush, and did not trip over his own thoughts in search for decent words, "I guess I knew in my heart that you wouldn't have forgotten about that…" he scratched the back of his head uneasily in a very cliché manner, "Hah, well, to tell you the truth, I was cu- just trying to find something for Tsuzuki."

Freakin' liar.

I felt my expression twist into something wicked angry, and I know Watari saw. Now motivated to revise his story, he spoke again, "Oh, but I mean… okay, I was just curious about you."

I nodded, "Well, you could've just asked me, Mr. Watari. I wouldn't have minded."

He blushed now, like a little girl or something, "Eh, right, but… I was… I didn't mean to think aloud."

I sighed, "Well, then, I'm not embarrassed to tell you that I have slept with a man before and it is not something that I wouldn't consider doing again." I'd worded that strangely, hadn't I? I watched Watari piece it together for half a second, then watched still as his face lit up shockingly. I didn't expect the news to be that enlightening to him…

Then again, I was feeling startlingly giddy myself… This didn't worry me as much as it should. This whole thing was about to get plenty more convoluted…

Mizuiro came in then, informing us that it would be ready soon, but he needed to know what we wanted to drink. Watari phased us with a request for lemonade, then proceeded to wonder out loud what Tsuzuki would want. I took his elbow as he stood there in the middle of the room contemplating and informed him that his friend was still here, and we could just ask him. Besides, Kazutaka might want something weird, too. He was very picky, and Mizuiro had even gone out to buy more hot coa coa once to accommodate the stupid, silver one's "needs."

Watari waited behind me, and I knocked once, adroitly on the shoji before sliding the outdated door into the wall.

I watched for two seconds.

A headache came exploding into my cranium.

I slammed the door shut.

Those…! Oh, Gods… I breathed deeply, ignoring Watari's strangled sound of surprise as we both quickly fled from the area, determined to remove ourselves from a fifty foot diameter to those two… _love birds_? 

Do you know what they were doing?! They were trying to eat each other! I _know_!! Head first, too! I think Kazutaka was on the verge of ingesting Tsuzuki's tongue! And Tsuzuki didn't care!! Aside from being completely red and sweaty, he looked completely fine with it! I think he was _enjoying _it!

Watari sighed, "Oh… I guess you get what you wanted."

All of the sudden, I didn't want them to become sincerely, ardently, passionately besotted for each other and be together _forever_. There was no reasoning, no logic, behind it, but I was very intent on going back there and raining on Kazutaka's big-ass, gleeful parade.

- END OF CHAPPIE THREE -

I think I needed to plan that chapter out a little better. By the way, that last little paragraph-thingy is hardly significant at all, so please don't dwell on it. Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that Tatsumi is my favorite character, and he's being neglected.

By me.

I need to do something about that.

I don't know what, but expect something. I was going to stick him back with Tsuzuki, but Muraki threatened me, and I think a lot of you would too if I did end up going through with that. I don't want to be threatened…

By anyone.

Well, I very much hope you enjoyed this chapter.

**QUESTION TO THE READERS**

Who's POV should be next? Muraki? Tsuzuki? Oriya? Watari?  
I think Muraki… let me have your opinion, dearest all! Please and sankyû!

(Dude, tell me in a review, please. Don't send me a private message or whatever because I might not find it for a good, long time)


	4. MK: A New 'Life'

For NaPap

.four.

Wow, did this take a millennium to write. I mean, I even started it while working on Wandering Aimlessly chapter 9… Well, whatever! I went on vacation for one, and I had a lot of reading to do for school (freakin' summer homework, can you believe it? What a great way to start my high school career) and I had to read Harry Potter, of course. I wasn't disappointed!! Good book. -nod- Anyways, I guess I'm not as fast of a writer as I thought I was. -shrug- Whatever.

I don't think that I need to say anything about this chapter… oh, well, Muraki makes this little proposal type thing, and I couldn't figure a decent way to word it, so please let it go.

I don't own Yami no Matsuei… I don't own anything. Except this fic, maybe. I suppose it's _partially_ mine…

Oh, my writing style for this first bit is a tad wonky and obnoxious. Please excuse. It was my mood. I do apologize if Muraki seems OOC.

.Muraki Kazutaka.

Despite an entire- technically peaceful- year at the Kokakuro, there were some things I wanted from it that I could not get.

One: To leave the Kokakuro and receive a _life_ elsewhere.

Two: For Tsuzuki Asato to become sincerely, ardently, passionately besotted with me.

Yes, of course I still wanted Tsuzuki, but I hadn't wanted to leave until last night. Tsuzuki comes rushing in, attacks me (I'd have to try to overlook this, I suppose), and I realize he's still out there ready for the taking. He presented himself to me and I was going to take it the way I wanted; I would take it as, 'Oh, Muraki, come get me!'

I do, unfortunately, realize that this was probably not what he meant by trying to kill me.

Anyway, I needed to go get Tsuzuki then, right? I mean since he wanted me to 'come get him.' I was, however, unable to do so. Not only had he rendered me inert with vicious injury, Mibu had decided I needed to stay in bed while viciously injured.

How do you get around that?

I didn't quite know either. Mibu, well, he was kinda hard to get around. Especially when you were not exactly physically fit. No, I had _not _gained weight, and I had _not _lost muscle. I am talking about the gashes in my chest right now. Actually, I had been training with Mibu everyday. If anything, I'd gained skill and muscle. The only thing deteriorating was my magical ability and my _mind_.

Moving right along, then.

For some reason or other, I do not think that Mibu is going to chase me too far once I get out of the Kokakuro and out of sight. All I had to do was sneak out and get away. He knew if I could escape him, I could take care of myself. It should be easy enough, and it would be if I was stilly magically adept and Mibu was a normal human. Both of these things, however, failed to be so. Odds were, definitely, against me.

Still, I could try. And I could continue to try until Mibu gave up or I succeeded. It'd probably have to be both. I don't think I can succeed until Mibu loses interest and decides I can leave. For that to happen, I have to wear him out by constantly trying to worm away, or heal. By 'wear him out,' I do not mean to tire him physically from chasing. I mean to tire his mind and bore him so much with my childish charade that he simply says, "To Hell with it!" and waves me away eagerly. Might take a while. Mibu, trained as a samurai, was very patient, very strong. _Very _strong in mind, spirit, and body. And everything else you could be strong in, if there was anything else.

So, not too early in the morning, I got up and shuffled around the house. I had already been allowed this much. I was already a pain in the ass already, and Mibu was not in the mood to bother with keeping me in bed. So I was shuffling around (and Mibu gave me a couple looks as he meandered around himself) for bathroom and refreshments. He was only up so he could train; something I wouldn't have to do for some while since I needed to heal.

Now I needed to make it to the front room. Tougher. Mibu knew I wanted to leave, of course, and he certainly did not want me anywhere near the entrance. The only other way out of the Kokakuro was the kitchen, but I had to go through Mizuiro to get there. Mizuiro, for reasons beyond me, admired me more than anyone ever had before, but he was wholly subservient to Mibu for taking him in and saving his life and whatnot. He would certainly betray me for this reason.

So, the front room it had to be. I walked past Mibu casually. _Too _casually. I had forgotten to sneer childishly at him. Lately, for the mere amount of hours that I had been crippled with chest wounds, I had decided to be ungrateful and bratty. I was sick of having no life; I wanted to whine about it. I guess being an arrogant brat was the way for me to do that.

I felt Mibu's baleful, brown gaze follow me past him and I, hopefully inconspicuously, ducked into one of the Kokakuro's many bathrooms. Apparently I had suddenly remembered that I needed to relieve myself. I don't know.

"Kazutaka?" He said warily, jadedly.

I decided not to answer and willed my bladder to help me seem innocent. It worked, and I heard Mibu move on in the hallway. Good, now I was nearly out of this place. After that, it would be a painful dash from the rather capacious front grounds of the Kokakuro. I might've been a little to confident on my success in this endeavor, but it didn't matter. It's not as though I would actually be punished when Mibu caught me.

I opened the door and continued on my way casually but quietly. There was no one else around, but when I reached the last room I was startled into a sprint when I heard Mibu's enraged, "You conniving _bastard_! Don't move another step!" He was going to kill me.

I ran across the wooden floors for my life, literally. I would not die upon being caught, but, however, I would certainly not be doing well in this facility any longer. My 'life' waited elsewhere. It waited with the dead. How ironic. My life was with the dead.

"Muraki Kazutaka! _Lay down_!" He roared. In all honesty, the idea of laying down right now sounded very appealing to me. My abdomen was ready to burst and spew my insides, and my chest was cramping and tightening horribly. But at least it looked like I was going to make it out, if only barely. Mibu wasn't yet in the same room as I was, but I could hear him coming, barreling down the hallway like an excited bloodhound on my blood trail. Seriously. I had left a trail of blood across the foyer. Maybe, if I were lucky, he would slip on it and fall. No, of course he wouldn't. This was Mibu I was talking about.

Mibu was only problem number one. Problem number two was appearing before me now in the form of Watari Yutaka. He stared at me blankly in surprise and failed to move even after I barked the command. I thrust my arms ahead of me, ready to violently shove him and knowing I would succeed. He was still surprised that I was up and running.

Except he ducked. He ducked and thrust a very hard skull into my already poorly abdomen. I only closed my eyes and tried to resist the air being knocked straight from my lungs. I was suddenly exhausted, but I still had the ability to listen angrily to Watari's words, "What're you doing, Muraki? You're going to kill yourself!" I was only trying to save myself… I don't know what he was talking about.

"Oh, good…" Well, nice of you to finally show up, Mibu. I expected much better from you.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, his ridiculous-strong arms were wrapped around me and I was compelled to struggle further. I don't think I would've said much even if I could. I may be in a pathetic way, but at least I was still conscious.

"Kazutaka-!" I wish I could tell you that I put up a valiant struggle, but that was certainly not the case. I only wriggled a very little bit before hearing my name and calming down to the point of not even supporting my own weight anymore. Mibu was clearly ticked by this arrogance, but he held me up nonetheless. "You stop acting like a stupid brat or we're going to put you on sedatives!" I wonder if he meant Watari by 'we?' It hardly mattered. The threat was a valid one. Sedatives would be bad news.

He forced me to stand, not really caring whether it was hurting me or not, and helped me back to my personal penitentiary-ah, room. He laid me down and began to work on me. I hadn't really known that he had any medical knowledge… Maybe he didn't. I panicked for a brief second before shutting myself up and waiting angrily for him to finish.

When he did, I thought some more and realized he didn't really have to fix me up, so I thanked him. He stood and stared at me patronizingly from so high above me, "Whatever. Just stop being such a fool, would you?"

Will do.

I lay there for a while after they were gone, unable to find any entertainment in this room anymore. It was bland before, but now that I'd been in here for an entire year it was positively dreary. How depressed I was. So my morning went and so I thought it would end. That was not the case.

A knock. I suspected Mizuiro with food, but it was only Oriya.

"Kazutaka! You have a visitor!" He barked. I looked at him, and turned my nose up at him. I registered what he said and realized that I cared about this. Even if it made me sound like an ancient, withering hospital patient, I still liked having visitors. I have only had one (discounting Mizuiro, who did visit me) in the past, however: Ukyou. And she only came to bitch at me about how dying would make Oriya and her very sad people and- OHMYGODIT'SMYBELOVED!!

"Mr. Tsuzuki!?" I sat up much too fast and couldn't restrain myself from an unsightly wince. It hurt. I forgot about it instantly however, blithely taking in the agreeably striking features of my beloved Tsuzuki. I was surprised. I liked Mizuiro and all, but Tsuzuki was a much better turn out.

Tsuzuki didn't even acknowledge me, so I went to getting up as he spoke to Oriya about healing me and what not. I was not _healed_, as was made obvious by the mess standing was causing me. It was ridiculous, honestly.

Finally Tsuzuki turned to me, "Um…" he blushed, as usual, "You don't have to get up…"

I exhaled irritably and resisted the urge to glare at him as I collapsed back onto the mat, patting it, "Care to sit down yourself, Mr. Tsuzuki?"

He shied back a tad, "I just wanted to say I'm sorry… Muraki…"

I resisted the impending smirk and feigned confusion, "An apology? Was I not deserving of what you did?" This part was true enough, I suppose. I was deserving of his attack and more.

He was actually confused when I said this, "It… wasn't right for me to come at you out of nowhere. You haven't done anything for an entire year…" That was true.

But so was this, "And of the past? I did do some things back then that I never seemed to have been judged for. I gather that, by now, I should be deep in Hell," I smirked a little.

Tsuzuki and Oriya both flinched and I restrained myself from laughing. Tsuzuki came and sat a considerable distance away from me, Indian style, hands in his lap where he could easiest stare at them, "Sure, but… it would've been better if I'd just left you alone and never ever gotten involved with you again," he said.

Slowly, I moved to him and stroked his thigh, "I don't agree to that," I purred lovingly.

Tsuzuki shuddered and swallowed hard before scooting away, "Whatever you've been doing the last year… I want you to continue it because-"

Mibu stepped forward, slamming his wooden sandals against the wooden floors. It clapped loudly, "I _don't _want him to continue it. He needs to go home already and get back to _work_! That idiot has been sitting around like a bump on my floors for the past year, and he does nothing but eat, sleep, and annoy the shit out of me!" That was harsh, wasn't it, Mibu? All I did was eat your food, fuck your girls, and exercise with you! I was… very bothered by what he said. And he went on, "You two need to settle whatever it is between you so he can stop being outright _worthless! _I am going to leave you two to speak of your rapport, whatever it may be. Good or bad. Straighten it out, already! What are you to each other?!"

I frowned deeply and glared at him, hoping that he understood how I was feeling. He was _storming_ on my parade here, and I think I was just struck by lightning. He slammed the door shut and I slumped a little. It flew open again and I sat up straight as a tree, "You have until breakfast, Muraki Kazutaka!! I am officially kicking you out!" What!? That was a little excessive! His volume didn't subside in the least as he said one last thing, "Oh, and Mr. Tsuzuki, do you have Mr. Watari's cell phone number?!"

My Tsuzuki was shaken to the core, "Y-yes," He produced paper from somewhere and scrawled Watari's number down quickly before handing it to Mibu. I voiced my disapproval in a grunt and I saw Mibu halt his exit. Luckily, he just kept going and slammed the door for the last time.

I sighed, not really sure if there was anything I could say to Tsuzuki. I suppose this was a good time to explain myself and my actions last year, huh? Try to get some forgiveness so his guilt will go away. Really, I haven't always been so murderous, and he should understand that certain events in my life drove me to do what I had done. Well, I had to say something, so I turned to him and spoke solemnly, "Mr. Tsuzuki, last year was a very big mistake," Now I was even more sick, craving to kill people with my bare hands and their too long nails. I continued to speak to him as if he were a child and it was imperative that I got him to understand, "If I could tell you my story I'm sure you-" I stopped on sensing his licentious air.

He was not listening to me in the slightest, was he? I mean, I knew it certainly didn't _look _like he was. No, no it did not.

"Mr. Tsuzuki…?" I could not imagine what he was thinking, and it was strange. Normally the boyish man was quite easy to interpret. I certainly wasn't saying that I didn't like this gorgeous switchover to novelty, it was… great. Great meaning arousing, that is.

He wasn't smiling or anything, but he still looked painfully aroused. So was this self-effacing beauty finally going to give me a chance, then? I had to take the chance. I mean, he had decided not to be rude and obstreperous for this meeting, so I had to assume he wouldn't anger at my advance. I rose my eyebrows at him, then smirked. He didn't move away, only blushed.

I'm going in.

I leaned forward a little, and rose my hand to take a hold of his face, but I hadn't gotten an inch before both of his hands seized my head and brought us together fiercely. I didn't allow myself to be bothered with the incongruity of such an action and replied with full enthusiasm. I was very pleased that he had decided to be less reticent and more eloquent. I mean, it was about damn time.

I then, for a very brief moment, began to ponder over what could've caused his change of mind. That was before I remembered I didn't give a damn whether or not any of this made _sense_. Right now, all that mattered was my effective seduction of Tsuzuki, who was actually doing a very good job of seducing _me_. This was hard for me to comprehend, considering he was most definitely still a virgin and probably not very practiced in the snogging arts, either.

Okay, less thinking, more seducing.

It took a mere half second for me to figure out how to take control. _Hands_. Somehow this newbie had managed to completely ravish me without using his hands. I don't necessarily think that he had somehow managed this through magically and suddenly acquired skill. I must have been deprived of passionate contact for too long (Oriya's girls were talented, of course, but not having any true feelings behind their actions really made them shallow and ineffective), or Tsuzuki truly was the most desirable creature ever to exist.

Yes. Yes, that must be it.

So I set to work, first only rubbing my hands up and down his upper arms and this kicked Tsuzuki's hands into gear. He fished one hand through my hair and placed his other hand on the wall of my chest. I took a hand and caressed his toned stomach before moving… lower. Instead of pushing me away, Tsuzuki moaned invitingly and I barely restrained myself from voicing my own approval. Tsuzuki's moan was a sound I had never heard before. It was a sound I had tried to imagine, and never gotten quite right. I hadn't really expected to be able to hear such a beautiful sound from him so soon, and after my keep in the Kokakuro's spare bedroom, I had begun to believe that I never would hear his voice again anywhere but it my lackluster dreams. All of this being proved so utterly false now… it was surpassing bliss and becoming, already, _heaven_. If a mere make-out scene was giving me such feelings, I could not possibly imagine what further actions might do.

I pulled back, needing to breath, and watched him pant. Nope, he was as aroused as I was. Great. So I plunged back in, but a second later, Tsuzuki pushed me away. I could've cried, but I wasn't that type of person. I merely frowned and sat back.

He controlled his breathing, and was frowning just as deeply as I was. This only confused me more, since he was the one who had stopped us. I cleared my throat twice before speaking, "Is there a problem, Mr. Tsuzuki?" I almost slipped and forgot the ending '-san' that time.

"Mr. Oriya wants us to figure out what we are to each other."

I continued to be nonplussed, "Was that just then not enough of an answer for you?"

Tsuzuki sniffed, "_No_, it wasn't," he said, annoyed, "I know you well enough to be aware that kissing someone does not mean anything to you."

What was he implying by _that_? Fine, if I had to draw it out plain for him, then, "Mr. Tsuzuki, would you please be with me as my significant other?" It was like a proposal… I mean, I could easily propose to him, but he would probably whip out a Fuda and try to murder me again if I did. Not that I gave a whit about what other people thought about me and the things I did, but I could see why marriage might prove difficult and unpractical for us. Nuptial reference only ever flustered Tsuzuki anyway.

He sighed and slumped a little where he sat, "I guess so."

"Might we please continue as we had been before, then?" I inquired brazenly.

He looked at me, "… I guess so."

So he hadn't completely razed the mood. Good, because this was the most salient moment in my life at the moment.

And so we carried on just as before, only to be interrupted again by a knock. I didn't feel like stopping, and neither did Tsuzuki, really, but he knew we shouldn't carry on for an audience of any kind, and so he tried to pull away. I didn't let him. I was so enthusiastic about this, I loved it so much… and then the door closed, not two seconds later. What luck!

I knew it had been Oriya, I knew Tsuzuki was now too terrified and appalled to continue, and I knew it was time for breakfast, so I, grudgingly, ended our bliss, "Why don't we get something to eat, Tsuzuki?" I purred, purposely leaving the '-san' missing. Either he didn't notice, or he didn't care.

He nodded, then looked up at me through tussled, beautiful, brown hair, and smiled, "Y-yeah. Watari never did bring me any breakfast…" Then he stood up, "I'll go get us something…" he added.

"I can stand, Tsuzuki," I said, a little offended. I did stand, it took me a moment, but my determination not to embarrass myself had me up in a jiffy. After that it was easy enough, even though I was probably bleeding under my bandages.

Tsuzuki smiled at me and took my hand. This couldn't last much longer. There was no way. Sooner than later, he would remember how we was supposed to hate me and whatnot. It was okay, at least now I knew he was tamable. I mean attainable. Hell, they're the same thing in this case.

"Mibu?" I said, moving into the dining room. He wasn't there, but I heard him talking to someone in the front room. Before we approached him Tsuzuki let go of my hand and looked at me, "Fix my hair!" How funny. He was worried about what Mibu would think? I mean, he'd already seen us doing our thing, so did it mater?

Just to reassure him, I moved a piece of hair from his line of sight, "Your hair looks magnificent, Tsuzuki," I said, leading him into the room. He followed meekly. I could feel his blush burning behind my back.

"Why, good morning Mr. Watari," I said, "Sorry for earlier," I bowed slightly, careful not to twitch at the resulting stab of pain.

Watari looked warily at me, smiling only a little and giving me a small wave, "'Morning, Mr. Muraki. Ah… it's no problem." He avoided locking eyes with Tsuzuki, but glanced in his friend's direction incessantly.

Mibu glared at me, "Mizuiro was wondering what you thought you might like to drink, Muraki," he sniffed and I realized that he had switched to my family name in his annoyance. I had expected him to be happier about this… it meant my safe and secure departure from the Kokakuro. I suppose he could be elated under that stupidly mean expression of his. He hadn't been known to express relief before, so what exception would there be now?

Well, I suppose there was that one time where he had acted differently. The morning I had drug myself to his doorstep and taken advantage of his okiya. It was damn well big enough to hold another person, so I didn't even listen to his complaints of having me stay in his house. But he never had any complaints in the beginning. Actually, I think he was happy to have me there. Having Mizuiro as the only other male in the house must have been extremely discomfiting, and even if I wasn't the best company to others, Mibu had known me for a long time. It wasn't until I became idle that he started to anger. But even then I think he was just worried. Big softy.

"That was terrible," Oriya said as soon as we sat down. I seethed with rage at those words, and hope that Tsuzuki was unable to realize what he was talking about.

He realized, and so did Watari, for they both looked down and away. And they both blushed. I suppose Watari was embarrassed for his friend, "Shut up, Mibu. You're only jealous that I have finally managed myself something and you still have nothing," I sneered, doing my best to give him equal discomfort to that that he had given me.

"_I _have nothing?! That makes no sense!" But he didn't say why, because he knew it wasn't true. That it _did _make sense.

"Oriya, do you remember the last time you had a boyfriend? Girlfriend? I can't say I do, it having been such a long time ago!" He had incensed me. How could he say something like that in front of my Tsuzuki? _How could he_? Did he have any idea how happy I had just become? Did he know how _destructive _his expression of distaste was? I think he did, which is what made me so irate.

"You're mistaken, Kazutaka!" he said, this time using my name for more impact, "I have a boyfriend right _now_!" And I saw Mr. Watari, in the corner of my eye, become horribly disenchanted. Tsuzuki appeared to notice Watari's slight ailment as well, and moved a little to go to him, but stopped so as not to interrupt and attract attention.

I rose an eyebrow, "Oh, and _who's that_?!" I said, nearly screaming. Soon, I would be regretting all of this…

"_Watari Yutaka_!"

- END CHAPTER FOUR -

I could've made that longer, I guess, but I really wanted to post it tonight. Oh, and Watari and Oriya aren't really together yet, Oriya' just being rash. So don't think you missed something, okay? Next chapter is either Oriya or Watari, I think, but there might be a last minute change to Tsuzuki's POV!

**QUESTION TO THE READERS**

_What __is Mibu Oriya's first/given name and what is his family/surname? I think his family name is Oriya and his given name is Mibu, but I've seen it both ways! Please help me figure this out!_

Let me have your opinion, dearest all! Please and thank you!

(Dude, tell me in a review, please. Don't send me a private message or whatever because I might not find it for a good, long time.)


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